Man became civilized with his ability to record his thoughts and spoken word. Johannes Gutenberg began experimenting with printing in 1440. He invented moveable type, leading to mass production of the written word. Without his invention where would Bible thumpers be today without “their good book?”

But where did the alphabet come from?

Mary Norris in The New Yorker issue of 14 January 2019 writes that the earliest alphabet came from the Phoenicians, which consisted of only 22 consonants, and was improved by the Greeks who added vowels to it. This evolved, over the years, into different ethnic languages but always with the same result: the dissemination of thought. However, the written word is not dogma. It suffers in translation and is finally distilled by the speaker, or writer, into what he or she thinks.

What is dogma? A principle or set of principles laid down by an authority as incontrovertibly true, but is anything today incontrovertibly true?

Therefore, what we see on the telly, or hear or see on our handheld devices, is almost entirely opinion and recipients interpret as they see fit. Most columnists, present company excluded, are here in the DN only to give you a piece of their mind and occasionally tell them what to wear or for whom to vote, and perhaps currently if rapid fire weapons are really such a good idea as compared to musket loaders when the 2nd amendment was first conceived.

Writer John Micek, in this newspaper, wrote, “An assault weapon ban won’t solve everything. It requires a holistic approach that includes background checks, early identification and treatment for those who might be inclined to carry out horrific acts of violence…but those are only half-way measures if the weapons of war enable wholesale slaughter of innocents in mere seconds. America banned these weapons once…and we can do it again.”

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In last week’s effort, instead of a joke, I ended with some quotes from the late great comedian George Carlin. However, some hip folks from Manton told me that those particular quotes were not from Carlin, but some other cat who wanted to ride along on Carlin’s coattails.

Sorry about that. It is bad enough to read other columnists and conclude your read with a rolling of the eyes, but my stuff is usually gospel in that sense of the word. And yet, I shall be more cautious and check with Snopes in the future.

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T. Potanovic of the County Health Department stopped by to discuss the county ordinance regarding cannabis growing. He explained the county and the federal take on the matter. He said if growers followed the rules regarding set-backs and indoor growing, they would not be hassled. However, he did mention that one problem I had not considered was the smell of cannabis if grown outdoors, which has been offensive to non-pot people.

Being formerly in the slaughterhouse business, I am acutely aware of smells.

However, I found that over time, anyone working in or about the plant got used to the odors. Even at our by-products plant where dead decomposing farm animals were deposited, some of the employees ate their lunch on piles of such debris.

So, maybe give it time, and cannabis aroma will be accepted by the masses, or maybe the geneticists can develop an odorless variation. Modern science can be beneficial to all.

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Son-in-law and writer J Konte of Marin asked what was the public’s fascination with the late well known drummer Buddy Rich and I launched into an extensive explanation.

The first patent ever registered for a bass drum pedal today dates back to as early as 1888, but it wasn’t until 1909 that William F. Ludwig and his brother Theobald made history, revolutionizing drumming with the invention of the first spring driven bass drum pedal. In addition, the modern drum set consists of a snare drum and a foot operated sock cymbal with two cymbals clashing together usually on every other beat.

Early day drummers like Baby Dodd and Ray Baduc, played very rudimentary drums and then, as the sets became more sophisticated, drummers began doing more intricate drumming and soloing, and yet the main function of drums was to just keep the beat.

Over the years, Buddy Rich became the flashiest drummer with his ability to do a one hand roll on the snare with his left hand, and provide accents with a stick on tom toms, snare or cymbals with his right.

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As readers know, our big dog Jazz is articulate when he and I converse. However, he is frustrated when it comes to some subjects. Cats, for example.

He sleeps with us in his own dog bed upstairs in our bedroom every night and if so inclined will retire there to snooze out the morning after our walk after I go to work.

Anyhow, I went out the front door today and proceeded to the enclosed maintenance yard where the feral cats are fed. As I am opening the gate to their feeding area, I hear a whimper. I look back and see Jazz standing at our open upstairs louvered window. From his vantage point, he observes me going to the cat feeding area. He obviously objects to my feeding them, especially when he can see one or two of the semi-domesticated ones gathering about my feet.

“Sorry,” I yell at him. “They have to eat, just like you do.”

He did not reply but just stood fixed there until I finally drove off to work.

Poor baby.

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Worth a repeat:

An elephant was drinking at a watering hole when he spotted a turtle asleep on a log and immediately knocked him off the log.

A passing zebra observed this and said, “Why did you do that?”

The elephant replied, “Years ago, that turtle bit me on the trunk when I paused to get a drink of water.”

The zebra said, “Wow. What a memory.”

The elephant smiled and said, “Yes, turtle recall.”

Robert Minch is a lifelong resident of Red Bluff, former columnist for the Corning Daily Observer and Meat Industry magazine and author of the “The Knocking Pen.” He can be reached at rminchandmurray@hotmail.com.